Back from Bahailand

Well there were moments when I felt like saying "Beam me up Scottie" but on the whole I had a really good weekend -  I met some very interesting people whom I will keep in contact with; I learnt a little about the bahai religion ( my knowledge was 0 before) and I witnessed Mount Kinabalu at sunset. My heart sank when we arrived at our destination as we had passed some very nice mountain lodges on our way. We were installed in the 'Haleluyah Retreat Centre" which normally runs Christian youth camps. It reminded me of a guide camp and was similar decor and condition from the 1970's. I was in a dorm of 8 bunk beds with much younger girls and the washing facilities were outside cold showers.It poured with rain all of Friday afternoon and Friday evening the temperature was cold. I haven't felt cold for 6 weeks and I didn't like it! On Saturday morning the weather started improving and we could see the view and everything seemed much better. The highlights for me were a very interesting documentary on the architecture of the Bahai temples in Haifa and Delhi; a talk by a young couple who had spent the last year in Cambodia as "pioneers" (missionaries) and all their ups and downs but also their very positive feelings about the Cambodian youth; the party last night - we all had a ball, young and old! There were sketches,singing and dancing and I had another go at another bird dance! This photo was the attempt of organising 130 people for a group photograph. The snake moth in my dorm was at least 1ft in diameter!

 Briefly what I brought back from the weekend (no, I'm not thinking of converting) was a feeling of acceptance of all religions and beliefs-"unity and diversity"is the catch phrase; an extremely positive role is expected of the youth and the 20 year olds seemed to be running everything; complete equality of the sexes with preference to educating females! It was a very interesting mixed racial group with many " mixed " marriages and Chinese, Malay and English were spoken throughout the weekend . There was a family there whose mother was Russian, father Tamil Indian and all the children spoke 5 languages! Interestingly too there seemed to be members from all socio-economic groups. There was a large family from the North of Sabah from the Tambanuo tribe who looked so alike and different from the Dusun people of this area. In conclusion,( sorry too many reports), I felt no pressure at all in being "converted". It seemed to be a very liberal, accepting religion which believes in serving in the community and making a difference to world unity.